Griffith University researchers have played a key role in using DNA “origami” templates to control the way viruses are assembled.
Dr. Frank Sainsbury and Dr. Donna McNeale from the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery were part of the research team and said forcing viruses to assemble onto DNA folded into different shapes “like origami” was a question that this project answered.
“We achieved control over the virus protein shape, size and topology by using user-defined DNA origami nanostructures as binding and assembly platforms, which became embedded within the capsid,” Dr. Sainsbury said.
“The virus protein coatings could shield the encapsulated DNA origami from degradation.
“This activity is more like wrapping a present—the virus proteins deposit on top of the different shape that is defined by the DNA origami shape.
“And different virus proteins are like different wrapping paper, which would be relevant to different uses of the coated DNA origami.”
Precise control over the size and shape of virus proteins would have advantages in the development of new vaccines and delivery systems.
“But current tools to control the assembly process in a programmable manner were elusive,” Dr. McNeale said.
“Our approach is also not limited to a single type of virus capsid protein unit and can also be applied to RNA–DNA origami structures to pave way for next-generation cargo protection and targeting strategies.”
Currently, Dr. Sainsbury and his team are working on gaining a more in-depth understanding of how different viruses self-assemble and how they can be used to encapsulate different cargoes.
This will allow them to design and modify further virus-like particles for a range of uses. For example, they discovered that one virus found in mice is able to carry protein cargoes through inhospitable environments and into a specific subcellular compartment in human cells.
“With the enormous existing design space among viruses that could be used as carriers, there is still much to learn from studying them. We’ll continue to push the boundaries of how virus-like particles can assemble and what can be learned from using them as medicine transporters, vaccines and biochemical reaction vessels,” Dr. Sainsbury said.
The next stage of the GRIDD team’s research will use this approach to look at why viruses don’t assemble into different shapes themselves.
More information: DNA-origami-directed virus capsid polymorphism, Nature Nanotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01443-x, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-023-01443-x
Journal information: Nature Nanotechnology
News
Two Hidden Forces Help Build the Human Brain Before Birth
Scientists have uncovered two surprising forces that help guide how the human brain forms before birth. Before birth, the human brain is shaped in large part by an unusual class of stem cells known [...]
Researchers Uncover a Hidden Trigger Behind Chronic Inflammation
The findings offer new insights that could help guide the development of future therapies. A protein called human resistin may help flip on one of the immune system’s most powerful inflammatory switches. Researchers at [...]
Scientists Have Uncovered Previously Hidden Microbial Activity on Human Skin
The most abundant microbes on your skin may not be the ones doing most of the work. Human skin supports vast communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that can influence its protective barrier, immune [...]
Brazilian Tree Compounds Fight COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts
Scientists found compounds in a Brazilian tree that hit SARS-CoV-2 on multiple fronts, revealing a promising new lead in the search for COVID-19 treatments. Researchers have found that galloylquinic acids extracted from the leaves [...]
Cutting Two Amino Acids Slowed Prostate Cancer in Mice
A newly identified link between amino acid metabolism and cholesterol production may help prostate tumors adapt to hormone therapy. Prostate cancer can find ways around treatments designed to deprive tumors of the hormones they [...]
Largest-Ever Physics Survey Raises New Doubts About Our Model of the Universe
Physicists around the world remain deeply divided on key mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to quantum gravity. The standard cosmological model failed to gain majority support, and no leading theory dominated the [...]
Scientists Just Overturned a 100-Year-Old Belief About Bacteria in the Lungs
New findings raise questions about the role of microbes living in the lungs. More than 35 trillion bacteria live throughout the human body, forming microbiomes in the gut, mouth, lungs, skin, and urogenital tract. [...]
GHCE Concept
From the preface of the book Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence, Edited by Frank Boehm: Since the publication of my first book (Nanomedical Device and Systems [...]
Novartis, Ionis drug failure spurs questions
Pelacarsen didn’t protect heart health despite lowering levels of a protein particle, “Lp(a),” in a large clinical trial — a result with important implications for cardiovascular drug research. Dive Brief: An RNA drug from [...]
New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created an injectable biomaterial that may help the brain recover from damage left behind by an ischemic stroke. In experiments with mice, the material transformed the cavity created [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden “Immune Organ” Inside the Skull
Researchers discovered lymph node-like immune hubs inside skull bone marrow that appear to act as rapid-response centers for the brain. For decades, the brain was thought to operate largely apart from the immune system. [...]
Engineered tRNAs and lipid nanoparticles target nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis
Researchers have developed a potential new approach for treating a form of cystic fibrosis caused by so-called nonsense mutations, combining chemically modified transfer RNAs with lipid nanoparticles designed to deliver the therapy directly to [...]
New pancreatic cancer drug carries a $39,800 monthly list price
A groundbreaking treatment for one of the most common forms of pancreatic cancer has been approved in pill form by the FDA. Revolution Medicines’ oral tablet daraxonrasib, branded as Rasonque, reduced the risk of [...]
Researchers Have Discovered a New Way To Reduce Chronic Nerve Pain
A cancer-linked protein called BRAF may help drive chronic nerve pain, and existing cancer drugs targeting it reduced pain sensitivity in preclinical models. Chronic nerve pain can persist long after an injury and often [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Quantum-Enabled Regenerative Health: Reimagining Wellness, Precision Health and Longevity Medicine
Introduction Healthcare is approaching a frontier where the quantum portfolio could influence not only how disease is diagnosed and treated, but how health itself is measured, modeled, predicted and preserved. Quantum computing, quantum simulation, [...]
